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44-417: The Poetry Archive is a free, web-based library formed to hold recordings of English language poets reading their own work. The Archive holds over 20000 poems and keeps the recordings safe and accessible so that current and future visitors can enjoy them. Each poet's work is surrounded by contextual information and biographies and has become a treasured resource for anyone looking for poetry. The Poetry Archive

88-660: A creative writing class at his alma mater, Radley College , before giving a poetry reading and thanking Peter Way, the man who taught him English at Radley, for making him who he was. Carol Ann Duffy succeeded him as Poet Laureate on 1 May 2009. Motion is chairman of the Arts Council of England's literature panel (appointed 1996) and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature . In 2003, he became professor of creative writing at Royal Holloway , University of London . Since July 2009, Motion has been Chairman of

132-627: A five-state swath of the Great Plains region. Poets of the Midwest were respected among artists throughout the country due to being informed of larger societal forces, such as the distrust of a media-driven culture. More small presses opened up in that time, and Midwestern poets began publishing more work. Warren Woessner regards the catalyst of the MPR to be the anthology Heartland in 1967. The movement began to develop after that point, along with

176-658: A poet during the Midwest Poetry Renaissance, the movement ended in 1975 with the publication of Heartland II. Ted Kooser is known for his conversational style of poetry that is accessible to a nonliterary public. Critic Dana Gioia, in his book Can Poetry Matter? , describes Kooser’s style as "drawn from common speech, with subject matter common to the Midwest." Kooser's early and contemporary work involves both troubles for Midwesterners, and observations from everyday life. Recurring themes include love, family, place, and time, but he does not consider himself

220-523: A post at the Writing Seminars as a Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University . Motion has said of himself: "My wish to write a poem is inseparable from my wish to explain something to myself." His work combines lyrical and narrative aspects in a "postmodern-romantic sensibility". Motion says that he aims to write in clear language without tricks. The Independent describes

264-418: A reading aged 86, in the year before he died in 2003. Motion commented: It's a fantastically powerful recording that was done a matter of days before his death. It doesn't show on the recording, but Richard, who made the recording, said that between each poem Charles broke down and wept, and had to gather himself. He knew that he was dying. He was saying goodbye to each of his poems. If you only listen to one of

308-576: A school resource. Andrew Motion Sir Andrew Motion FRSL (born 26 October 1952) is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive , an online resource of poems and audio recordings of poets reading their own work. In 2012, he became President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England , taking over from Bill Bryson . Motion

352-475: A serious head injury requiring a lifesaving neurosurgery operation. She regained some speech, but she was severely paralysed and remained in and out of coma for nine years. She died in 1978 and her husband died of cancer in 2006. Motion has said that he wrote to keep his memory of his mother alive. When Motion was about 18 years old, he moved away from the village to study English at University College, Oxford ; however, since then he has remained in contact with

396-661: A term from October 2004 through May 2005. In April 2005, Theodore J. Kooser was appointed to serve a second term as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. During that same week, Kooser received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his book Delights & Shadows ( Copper Canyon Press , 2004). Edward Hirsch wrote: "There is a sense of quiet amazement at the core of all Kooser’s work, but it especially seems to animate his new collection of poems, Delights & Shadows ." Kooser's most recent books are Kindest Regards: New and Selected Poems and Red Stilts (2020). He founded and hosted

440-406: Is not lost, as it has been with writers such as Thomas Hardy , D. H. Lawrence and A. E. Housman whose voices were never recorded, despite the technology being available at the time. The resource is built on the idea that poets have a unique relationship with their own work and are often able to communicate the nuance, musicality and subtlety of it, with a deeper understanding than actors. Texts to

484-915: The Larkin 25 festival commemorating the 25th anniversary of Philip Larkin 's death. In his capacity as Larkin's biographer and as a former lecturer in English at the University of Hull , Motion named an East Yorkshire Motor Services bus Philip Larkin . Motion's debut play Incoming , about the war in Afghanistan, premièred at the High Tides Festival in Halesworth , Suffolk in May 2011. Motion also featured in Jamie's Dream School in 2011 as

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528-527: The Man Booker Prize 2010 and in March 2010, he announced that he was working with publishers Jonathan Cape on a sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson 's Treasure Island . Entitled Silver , the story is set a generation on from the original book and was published in March 2012. In July 2010, Motion returned to Kingston-upon-Hull for the annual Humber Mouth literature festival and taking part in

572-723: The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) appointed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport . He is also a vice-president of the Friends of the British Library , a charity which provides funding support to the British Library . He was knighted in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours list. He has been a member of English Heritage 's Blue Plaques Panel since 2008. Motion was selected as jury chair for

616-575: The National Lottery , government grants and private donors. The current president is Sir Daniel Day-Lewis . The previous president was the late poet Seamus Heaney In May 2019 the Children's Poetry Archive site launched a website designed for children to explore and enjoy As of July 2020, the readings of over 550 poets are available on the two sites, with content searchable by title, author, theme, and form. Historic recordings available on

660-399: The Poetry Archive , an on-line library of historic and contemporary recordings of poets reciting their own work. Motion remarked that he found some of the duties attendant to the post of poet laureate difficult and onerous and that the appointment had been "very, very damaging to [his] work". The appointment of Motion met with criticism from some quarters. As he prepared to stand down from

704-588: The Poetry Society 's Poetry Review from 1980 to 1982 and succeeded Malcolm Bradbury as professor of creative writing at the University of East Anglia . He is now on the faculty at the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars . Motion was appointed Poet Laureate on 1 May 1999, following the death of Ted Hughes , the previous incumbent. The Nobel Prize –winning Northern Irish poet and translator Seamus Heaney had ruled himself out for

748-739: The TUC about liberty, about homelessness for the Salvation Army , about bullying for ChildLine , about the foot and mouth outbreak for the Today programme , about the Paddington rail disaster , the 11 September attacks and Harry Patch for the BBC, and more recently about shell shock for the charity Combat Stress , and climate change for the song cycle he finished for Cambridge University with Peter Maxwell Davies ." On 14 March 2002, as part of

792-470: The University of Hull and while there, at the age of 24, he had his first volume of poetry published. At Hull he met the university librarian and poet Philip Larkin . Motion was later appointed as one of Larkin's literary executors, which would privilege Motion's role as his biographer following Larkin's death in 1985. In Philip Larkin: A Writer's Life , Motion says that at no time during their nine-year friendship did they discuss writing his biography and it

836-460: The 'Re-weaving Rainbows' event of National Science Week 2002, Motion unveiled a blue plaque on the front wall of 28 St Thomas Street , Southwark , to commemorate the sharing of lodgings there by John Keats and Henry Stephens while they were medical students at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in 1815–16. In 2003, Motion wrote Regime change , a poem in protest at the Invasion of Iraq from

880-565: The Midwest Poetry Renaissance occurred. He published his first book through the University of Nebraska Press at age 30, titled “ Official Entry Blank .” Ted’s first full-length book was already out of print by the early 1970s, at which time he became more of a small press poet like many other poets in the Midwest. Ted continued to receive publication of individual poems within anthologies and published several more books in small presses. He also began to edit The New Salt Creek Reader , which had six anthologies by 1974. According to Warren Woessner,

924-463: The age of 60. He wrote for an hour and a half before work every morning, and by the time he retired, Kooser had published seven books of poetry. Kooser taught as a Presidential Professor in the English department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is currently a Professor Emeritus. On August 12, 2004, he was named Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by the Librarian of Congress to serve

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968-647: The alma mater of his uncles. He began writing short nonfiction stories for the Iowa State student literary magazine. He also joined the Iowa State Writer’s Round Table, which he credits for fine-tuning his writing skills; Iowa Senator Tom Harkin was also a part of the group. In 1961, Kooser moved to Marshalltown, Iowa , to student teach English classes. The following year he graduated with a BS in English education from Iowa State University and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa , to live with his parents. He

1012-433: The archive include Alfred Tennyson (recorded by Thomas Edison 1890), Robert Browning (1889), Rudyard Kipling (1921) W. B. Yeats (1932) and Langston Hughes (1955). Contemporary writers include Seamus Heaney , Billy Collins , Carol Ann Duffy and John Ashbery . The work of New Zealand Allen Curnow was recorded shortly before his death in 2001, one of the first to be archived. Cornish poet Charles Causley gave

1056-406: The countryside, and he went for walks with a pet dog. Later he went to Radley College , where, in the sixth form , he encountered Peter Way, an inspiring English teacher who introduced him to poetry – first Thomas Hardy , then Philip Larkin , W. H. Auden , Seamus Heaney , Ted Hughes , Wordsworth and Keats . When Motion was 17 years old, his mother had a horse-riding accident and suffered

1100-505: The job, Motion published an article in The Guardian that concluded, "To have had 10 years working as laureate has been remarkable. Sometimes it's been remarkably difficult, the laureate has to take a lot of flak, one way or another. More often it has been remarkably fulfilling. I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad I'm giving it up – especially since I mean to continue working for poetry." Motion spent his last day as Poet Laureate holding

1144-484: The library, and it went to cars. He joined the Nightcrawlers Car Club and became secretary of the group in 1956. His motivation for writing in high school can be in part credited to one of his teachers, Mary McNally, who encouraged him to continue writing essays and poems that reflected his life. Kooser graduated from Ames High School with a class of 175 students and enrolled at Iowa State University ,

1188-622: The local area; Richard Motion's grandfather Andrew Richard Motion was a Justice of the Peace for Essex , Oxfordshire and Warwickshire , who had worked his way up from being a brewery labourer in the East End of London to ownership of his own successful brewery. When his children had grown up and married, he sold the Upton House estate and went to live at Stisted Hall, in Essex. When Motion

1232-611: The newspaper project "American Life in Poetry". In 2020, Kooser chose Kwame Dawes , a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets , to be his successor as of January 1, 2021. Kooser also edits the Ted Kooser Contemporary Poetry series published by the University of Nebraska Press . Awards & Honors Ted Kooser was part of the Midwest Poetry Renaissance in the 1960s and 1970s. The Midwest Poetry Renaissance drew on elements of Rural America through

1276-424: The poems and other resources are available but the poet's voice is the main concern of the site. Motion has stated "To hear the speed at which a poet reads, to hear their accent, to hear how they inflect their voice, to hear how they create a space around their words - or don't - all add to our using of what the meaning of poem might be." Contemporary studio recordings for the project began in 2000, shortly after Motion

1320-414: The poems on the website, listen to "Eden Rock". It's a great poem and he reads it so beautifully and introduces it so touchingly. In 2006 historic readings by Dylan Thomas , Ted Hughes and Walter de la Mare , were added. That same year, the project worked with the BBC to archive rare readings by Siegfried Sassoon , Robert Graves and Philip Larkin . In 2008 over 60 American recordings were archived on

1364-595: The poetry teacher. In June 2012, he became the President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England . In March 2014 he was elected an Honorary Fellow at Homerton College, Cambridge . Motion won the 2015 Ted Hughes Award for new work in poetry for the radio programme Coming Home . The production featured poetry by Motion based on recordings he made of British soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . In 2017 Motion moved to Baltimore, Maryland to take up

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1408-671: The point of view of Death walking the streets during the conflict, and in 2005, "Spring Wedding" in honour of the wedding of the Prince of Wales to Camilla Parker Bowles . Commissioned to write in the honour of 109-year-old Harry Patch , the last surviving " Tommy " to have fought in the First World War , Motion composed a five-part poem, read and received by Patch at the Bishop's Palace in Wells in 2008. As laureate, he also founded

1452-421: The post. Breaking with the tradition of the laureate retaining the post for life, Motion stipulated that he would stay for only ten years. The yearly stipend of £200 was increased to £5,000 and he received the customary butt of sack . He wanted to write "poems about things in the news, and commissions from people or organisations involved with ordinary life", rather than be seen as a 'courtier'. So, he wrote "for

1496-700: The site, in collaboration with the Poetry Foundation , based in Chicago. Readers include Ted Kooser , Robert Pinsky , and Philip Levine . The Children's ARchive also includes work by poets such as Roald Dahl, Spike Milligan, Michael Rosen. The website also features collections of classic poetry being read by contemporary poets and famous British voices, including Helen Mirren , Stephen Fry , Judi Dench and Alan Rickman . The archive also includes extensive material for teachers and students, including glossaries, biographies and lesson plans that integrated as

1540-770: The stalwart poet as the "charming and tireless defender of the art form". Motion has won the Arvon Prize, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize , Eric Gregory Award , Whitbread Prize for Biography and the Dylan Thomas Prize . Motion took part in the Bush Theatre 's 2011 project Sixty-Six Books , writing and performing a piece based upon a book of the King James Bible . Motion's marriage to Joanna Powell ended in 1983. He

1584-421: The village to visit the church graveyard, where his parents are buried, and also to see his brother, who lives nearby. At university he studied at weekly sessions with W. H. Auden , whom he greatly admired. Motion won the university's Newdigate Prize and graduated with a first class honours degree . This was followed by an MLitt on the poetry of Edward Thomas . Between 1976 and 1980, Motion taught English at

1628-406: The works of Ted and other poets such as Victor Contoski , Mak Vinz, David Steinglass, Gary Gildner, James Hazard, Greg Kuzma , Judith Minty, and Kathy Weigner (as well as many others) who exemplified the rural subject matter and conversational tone. Most of the poets were in their twenties or early thirties and published their first books. Ted was in his late twenties and thirties during the decade

1672-472: Was 12 years old, the family moved to Glebe House at Stisted , near Braintree in Essex, where Richard Motion's grandparents had previously lived at Stisted Hall, by that time converted into a home for the elderly. Motion went to boarding school from the age of seven joined by his younger brother. Most of his friends were from the school and so when Motion was in the village, he spent a lot of time on his own. He began to have an interest and affection for

1716-504: Was Larkin's longtime companion Monica Jones who requested it. He reports how, as executor, he rescued many of Larkin's papers from imminent destruction following his friend's death. His 1993 biography of Larkin, which won the Whitbread Prize for Biography , was responsible for bringing about a substantial revision of Larkin's reputation. Motion was editorial director and poetry editor at Chatto & Windus (1983–89); he edited

1760-624: Was appointed a Poet Laureate, and the site went live in 2005. Most of the recordings are created especially for the Archive and these are augmented by some classic poems read by well-known readers. New recordings are regularly added and there is also a download store which allows people to purchase and download audio poetry directly from the website. In the first year, the site had 500,000 visitors, building to over 1.5 million annual users in 2008, nearly 2 million in 2009 and over 3 million in its 20th year of recording. The project continues to be funded by

1804-491: Was born on 26 October 1952 in London, to (Andrew) Richard Michael Motion (1921-2006), a brewer at Ind Coope , and (Catherine) Gillian (née Bakewell; 1928–1978). Richard Motion was from a brewing dynasty; his grandfather founded Taylor Walker , but by Richard Motion's time this had been absorbed by Ind Coope. The Motion family were wealthy armigers who lived at Upton House , Banbury , Oxfordshire , and were prominent in

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1848-420: Was founded by recording producer Richard Carrington and poet Andrew Motion , during his appointment as UK Poet Laureate in 1999 and is now led by Director Tracey Guiry. Recordings of contemporary work began in 2000 and the first website went live in 2005. The Poetry Archive is a not-for-profit registered UK charity. The archive was established as a web-based library to ensure that the oral record of modern poets

1892-682: Was married to Jan Dalley from 1985 to 2009, divorcing after a seven-year separation. They had one son born in 1986 and twins, a son and a daughter, born in 1988. In 2010 he married Kyeong-Soo Kim. He currently lives part of the year in Baltimore , Maryland , in the United States. Ted Kooser Ted Kooser was born in Ames, Iowa , on April 25, 1939. Growing up, Kooser attended Ames Public Schools for elementary and middle school. When Kooser arrived at Ames High School , his interest diverted from

1936-666: Was offered a graduate readership opportunity at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and in 1963, he and his wife moved to Lincoln, Nebraska . After winning the Vreeland Award for poetry in 1964, he soon after lost his graduate readership from the University for his poor GPA. In 1967, he received his MA from Nebraska. After earning his MA, Kooser worked at Bankers Life Nebraska. He eventually went on to work for Lincoln Benefit Life (a subsidiary of Allstate), an insurance company, for 35 years before retiring as vice president at

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